A variety of packaging braces, fillers and cushioning pads are known in the art, and in point of fact, the packaging art is well developed. In most instances, a particular type of packaging brace or end cap is constructed to accomplish a specific function. For example, corner cushioning pads are well known in the art such as the type depicted in U.S. Pat. No. 3,555,137 assigned to the assignee of the present invention. Other types of packing fillers and braces are designed to accommodate an article within a container and also designed to be energy absorbent such that relatively fragile articles may be packaged without damage during transport. An example of this type of packaging brace is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,695,421. As depicted therein, it is intended that the packaging braces retain a rectangular article between a plurality of four of such braces after which the article with the packaging braces installed thereon are positioned within a container.
Other examples of packaging fillers and energy absorbent packaging pads is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,531,040 wherein a foam plastic buffer packaging material is disclosed intended to surround the outer periphery of an article packaged within another container. Similar concepts are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,565,243 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,404,826 wherein it is intended to encompass or envelope the particular article to be packaged between the packaging brace utilized after which the same are positioned into a container for shipment and transport. It is apparent from a review of the prior art noted above as well as presently available packaging materials that generally, such materials are designed for a specific function or purpose. Often times, such packaging materials are specifically designed for a product, per se, as is well known in the electronics industry wherein packaging materials are generally designed to accommodate a particular style of radio receiver or television receiver or the like. It is therefore apparent that in most instances such packaging materials have a unitary use, unitary in the sense that the packaging brace can only be employed with a particular product. Similarly, in many cases, the packaging brace is constructed to accommodate either articles having rectangular corners or those which are cylindrical in configuration. Therefore, depending upon the article to be packaged and the particular configuration thereof, the packaging material must be varied. It is therefore clear that when one employs packaging materials having a unitary function, the cost of providing such package fillers, braces or end caps becomes a significant factor.
In addition to the above drawbacks it is to be noted that most of the packaging fillers or end caps or braces described in the patented art are presently commercially available the same tend to be formed as fairly rigid items and do not generally tend to have any ability to be adapted to a particular article to be packaged. For example, the cushioning unit shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,572,574 relates to two rigid end caps which are designed to be employed with a rectangular article to be packaged within another container. Clearly, the end caps employed cannot be adapted to a different sized package, or a different sized article. Of the types of packaging braces and/or fillers which are available and which do permit movement generally such units merely permit flexing the same around corners within the package wherein the article is to be packed.